


Word Choice

by Ylevihs



Series: How Not to Fall [5]
Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Short and Soft, light retribution spoilers, poorly transcribed Boston accent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 03:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18402278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ylevihs/pseuds/Ylevihs
Summary: Herald and Richard discuss words





	Word Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr

Richard shifted his weight and tried not to dig in anywhere remarkably uncomfortable. The body beneath his own remained at ease, warm and steady. Mostly at ease. Daniel made a whisper soft noise, bleeding out a flurry of post-coital contentment, as Richard nuzzled into the junction of his shoulder and neck. He smelled like sweat and a little like sex and just on the edge of recognition, faintly of soap. The hands roaming Richard’s back pressed him in close and Richard hummed at the feeling.

 _Cuddling_ was not something Richard had ever been allowed to imagine for himself.

Sex hadn’t been off the table when he’d envisioned a future for himself—there had been enough, ah, ‘encounters’ at the Farm to let him know that no matter how much he despised himself, there would always be someone a little more twisted who might want to force him down for the evening. When he’d pictured it for himself, it had always been through the tinted lens of necessity. Commodified. And, usually, flavored with just enough violence to satisfy his self loathing. A warm body to be used, and then abandoned, not.

Well. Not like. 

Daniel found his hand and brought it gently to his mouth, kissing lightly at the knotted scars on his knuckles. They were floating about two feet off of Daniel’s bed, which would have put Richard on edge were it not for how terribly slowly the ascent had been. He’d only noticed the change when his legs had been forced to unfold from their places beside Daniel’s hips. Now his ankles were hooked over Daniel’s shins, knees hanging down almost enough to touch the bedspread, the world’s most ineffective blanket. It wasn’t particularly the most comfortable arrangement but.

Oh, but Daniel was so warm under him. Warm and welcoming and wanting. Willing to hold him and stroke into his hair and send little trembles of something foreign and pleasant through Richard’s nervous system. There was a fluttering sensation as Daniel’s thoughts worked to organize themselves into something presentable.

“Can I ask you something?” he released Richard’s hand and began sliding the backs of his fingernails over the skin of Richard’s bicep.

“You can ask whatever you’d like,” Richard whispered into his neck.

“Doesn’t mean you’ll answer, right?” it was a gentle poke. Right at Richard’s heart.

“I’ll do my best,” only for you, he added on, mouthing at the skin under his lips. When had that started? The absolute certainty that whatever Daniel asked of him, he’d be unable to deny. Richard carefully shelved that book of doubts to be flipped through at a later time. The swarm of Daniel’s thoughts rippled, tumbled around each other for the moment, before:

“Why don’t you ever swear?” Daniel’s hold on him tightened, imperceptible unless one was waiting for it. Richard forced himself to relax back into the embrace. “I mean. I remember when you were on TV back when you…back then. You didn’t seem to mind…,” Daniel trailed. Richard let him, waiting to see if there was any more follow up. There wasn’t. The question felt like genuine curiosity. It wasn’t the worst thing he could’ve asked about.

Richard turned his head slightly, pressing his forehead to Daniel’s cheek. Leaving butterfly kisses on his jawline. Trying to figure out how to word it.

“It…After I got away, the second time, it felt like something small that I knew I could control. Something that was completely my choice and not because I had to or because I was too scared not to or…,” Richard shrugged as much as he could while being cradled flush to Daniel’s chest.

“Oh,” a small sound. Accepting of the answer and then. Wing beats. Richard buried his face back into Daniel’s neck to keep from smiling.

“Do you want me to?” the wing beats fluttered. Embarrassed, not quite nervous, settling.

“No,” it was a little lie. Richard let himself grin broadly and pressed it into Daniel’s skin, so that he could feel the teeth. “I mean. Only if you want to?” Then he pulled back as much as the position would allow, taking in Daniel’s expression.

“I’ll trade you,”

“You’ll trade me?”

“I’ll say whatever you want if you say something in that accent of yours,” there was a pause as Daniel rolled the idea around his idea for a moment.

“Well, I think I ken meanaege that, Richahd,” and then, completely against his own wishes, Richard felt giggles erupt out of his chest; the dull thud against his knees as Daniel landed abruptly almost knocked him from his perch. It didn’t stop the hysterical little zips of laughter bubbling up from his veins. He could practically feel the radiant heat from Daniel’s blush. There was shifting beneath him and little. Oh. Oh no, a little breeze of humiliation.

Still shaking with barely suppressed snickers, Richard caught Daniel’s face between his hands and began to pepper his face with helplessly delighted kisses.

“No, no, no, shhh,” the shush slid back into giggles. “Sorry, sorry. I…That was fucking beautiful, Daniel,”

“Asshole,” Daniel’s mouth visibly twitched. Trying to suppress a smile of his own. Richard was still laughing when he pressed his lips to Daniel’s and felt a thrill run up through his core as Daniel chuckled back into the kiss.


End file.
